1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and a method of controlling the operation of the mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal and a method of controlling the operation of the mobile terminal, in which various operations performed by the mobile terminal can be effectively controlled according to the state of mind of a user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile terminals are portable devices, which can provide users with various services such as a voice calling service, a video calling service, an information input/output service, and a data storage service.
As the types of services provided by mobile terminals diversify, an increasing number of mobile terminals have been equipped with various complicated functions such as capturing photos or moving pictures, playing music files or moving image files, providing game programs, receiving broadcast programs and providing wireless internet services and have thus evolved into multimedia players.
Various attempts have been made to realize such complicated functions as hardware devices or software programs. For example, various user interface (UI) environments, in which users are allowed to easily search for and choose desired functions, have been developed. In addition, the demand for various designs for mobile terminals has steadily grown due to a growing tendency of considering mobile terminals as personal items that can represent personal individuality.
In the meantime, research has been conducted on various interfaces using facial expressions or motions of the human body or the eyes, and particularly, on a brain computer interface (BCI) technique, which uses brain waves to determine the intention of a user. The BCI technique has expanded its application to various fields as one of the most prominent next-generation computing techniques.
Therefore, a method is needed to determine the state of mind of a user using the BCI technique and control the operation of a mobile terminal according to the results of the determination.